The Cost of Living
by twilitprincess
Summary: The tearful and heartwrenching life story of Lucas's lost brother, Claus, and the tragedies he endured for the last three years of his life until the very end...
1. Chapter 1

**Finally, I'm putting up a Mother story! This one is from Claus's point of view since he's my second favorite character in the series. Trust me, it's a lot better than it sounds! The first chapter will be a little bit boring but I'll really get into things later on in the story.**

**IMPORTANT: You don't have to have played Mother 3 to read this but it would help if you did! But later on there WILL be spoilers so you have been warned.**

**So please enjoy the story and make sure you review, but no flames! Oh and that first line I wrote BEFORE I saw the Twilight movie. Ugh…**

I guess I had never given much thought to how I was going to die.

My life, up until I was ten years of age, was peaceful and fun. I was inside a perfect little world with a close family who loved me. I had no fears. No danger came anywhere near us. We were content with our lifestyle.

I would have never guessed that tragedy would come to the safe haven that we lived in. I always expected that something like that would happen to other people…but I guess everyone must think that at some point.

* * *

"Lucas!! How long're you gonna sleep?! Get up so we can play! Get up, already!" I shouted, pounding against Grandpa Alec's door, my hands shaking with excitement, "The Dragos brought their babies over! They're really cute!! Hurry up!" Tired of waiting, I bolted away from the house, running through the grassy canyon to where the enormous dragon-like reptiles were.

When I arrived, I turned to the Drago couple that had always been our friends. The blue-green father was dozing lazily on the canyon ground, his green-colored wife standing beside him. Their baby was nestled protectively in between them. When they saw me approaching, the young Drago hopped out to greet me with a pleasant growl. The parents did not look worried, for they were comfortable with humans just as we were with them.

The baby Drago charged forward and head butted my stomach. With pure strength, I flipped him onto his back and we wrestled on the ground for a couple of minutes. Finally, he had had enough and got up, scampering over to where his father was lying on his belly.

Getting down to business, I stepped back from the family. Bracing myself, I charged forward and rammed into the female Drago. She fell on her side with a startled roar. After lying on the ground for a moment, she blinked her eyes a couple times and got back up. Smiling to myself, I continued to ram her until I heard a gasp from behind me.

Lucas was finally here!

Panting, I turned to meet him. "Whew, I'm beat." I gasped, "I've been play-fighting with the Dragos all morning. You should play too, Lucas."

"No…" My brother said quietly, looking doubtfully at the beasts before him.

"Don't be a wimp!" I growled, "The Dragos love being rammed! Here, come try it." He stood back, looking uncertain, but my harsh words must have made him determined. He walked up to try his hand at ramming, but suddenly Grandpa was there.

"Claus!" He yelled, walking up, "Lucas still doesn't know how to ram into things yet!"

Lucas turned red. "Yes I do." He said sheepishly, "I've seen Claus do it."

Grandpa started yammering about how to ram properly by using something called a B button, but neither of us was listening. I slipped up to my twin's side and whispered, "Here. I'll show you an example. Then the Dragos will like you too!" He nodded, looking reassured. Puffing out my chest, I walked back a couple of feet. Then I ran at the Drago, driving my head into its stomach.

"Yes! Just like that!" Grandpa shouted, as the Drago fell over. I beamed. "Now it's your turn, Lucas. Give it a try." Lucas just stood there, staring at the Drago as it got up. "You'll never succeed with such a sullen look on your face. That holds true for anything." He snapped at his grandson's hesitation. "Just relax!"

I frowned. Sometimes I got the feeling Grandpa was a little hard on Lucas, but at least it got him to ram the Drago. Better yet, the Drago actually fell over! I went up to congratulate him. "The harder you run into them, the more Dragos like it." I told him. A small smile spread across his face as the baby Drago nuzzled him affectionately.

Before we could play anymore, our mom, Hinawa, appeared. "Lunch is ready, everyone." She said, "I made your favorite, boys. Omelets!"

I jumped up and down happily. "Ooh! Lunch, lunch! Omelets!!" I shouted, racing back to the house with Lucas behind me.

When we got back, Mom dished out the omelets. I immediately dug in to the delicious food and it wasn't long before I was going back for seconds. I went to thank Mom and tell her it was good, but Lucas beat me to the catch.

"Good lunch, Mom." He said, wiping his face with a napkin. "Thanks."

She smiled. "Your welcome."

"What's your favorite food, Mom?" I asked randomly.

She sat there looking thoughtful. "Omelets." She laughed, taking another bite of hers.

"Oh? Omelets?" I said cheerfully, "Then your favorite is the same as ours? We make a good match!" Lucas nodded, his mouth too stuffed with egg to say anything.

"When we're done eating, you can go out and play some more but don't be too long. After dinner we have to go through the forest to get back, so we'll need to leave early."

The forest! I bounced up and down in my seat, thinking of all the fun adventures that could be awaiting us in the forest. I didn't even notice it when Mom walked out of the house to go write Dad a letter. I put my dish away and ran outside.

"Come on!" I shouted, "Let's go play with the Dragos some more!"

Lucas and I charged into the meadow where the Drago families resided. Suddenly, Lucas froze in front of me and I cannoned into him. We fell over and scuffled on the ground. "Hey! Watch it!" I laughed, trying to give him a playful punch, but he pulled away and sat upright, his eyes wide. I blinked at him, confused, then turned to look at the empty canyon before us.

"Hey, where'd all the Dragos go?" I said in surprise, "They were here half an hour ago!"

"I guess they all left…" Lucas said quietly, but his curious eyes betrayed that he wanted to know where they had gone. We got up and I hung my head, my heart plummeting as I realized that there was nothing to do now. Lucas nudged me, a small smile spread on his face as he read my mood.

"I know what we can do!" He grabbed my hand and began to drag me away from the canyon. I rolled my eyes. Why did he always want everyone to hold his hand? I played along, wondering what his brilliant idea was. He took me all the way to a calm part of the river, where the stream stopped to form a pool of water before continuing on.

"Let's go swimming!" He said cheerfully.

"Yeah!" I shouted, beaming. "Why didn't I think of that? You're a genius, Luke!" I messed up his hair as revenge for making me hold his hand. He grimaced, but I ignored him and started running towards the water. With one smooth movement, I tore my shirt off and tossed it into the air. Then I leaped, diving headfirst into the deep pool. When I came up, my hair was matted to my head and dripping into my face.

I watched as Lucas stepped up to the water's edge and stuck a toe delicately into the water. Then, after slipping his shirt neatly off and folding it, he plugged his nose, and jumped into the water.

We splashed around in it, laughing. The pool was the perfect size for playing in—if I stood on my toes I could touch the bottom. "Hey Lucas!" I shouted, "Watch this!" Taking a deep breath, I plunged into the water and went to do a handstand, but then I slipped on the muddy bottom and ended up doing an awkward flip. When I came back up, my brother was trying not to laugh.

"Well let's see you do it!" I said huffily. He shook his head, stifling a giggle. "Then I'll teach you to laugh at me!" I growled playfully and tackled him, sending up a huge wave.

He screamed suddenly as I knocked him backwards. I froze, eyes wide, as he wailed, "I stepped on a rock!"

I immediately relaxed. "Really? That's all? I thought a snake had gotten you!"

He limped out of the water and sat on the riverbank, clutching his foot. There was a small gash with blood trickling out of it. His eyes welled up with tears. "It hurts." He whimpered.

I rolled my eyes. "Come back in the water and it'll wash off while we play."

He shook his head, his bottom lip quivering.

"If you don't…" I said evilly, "They'll have to cut it off!"

He stared at me for a few seconds. Then the tears in his eyes broke free. He buried his head in his knees and bawled. Sighing, I climbed out of the pool and sat beside him. "I was kidding, okay? It's not that bad. Mom can fix it up once we get back."

He wiped his eyes and smiled. "How come you never cry, Claus? Yesterday you scraped your knee, but you didn't cry."

I laughed, "I guess you do enough crying for the both of us!"

"You're so strong…" He murmured, staring at his foot, "But one day I'll be strong too. Then I won't cry so much."

I stifled a snort. "Great. I'll be there to congratulate you. Now let's go get your foot fixed up."

We stood up and began to walk home together. As I supported him with my shoulder, he mumbled, "They're not really gonna cut it off?"

There was a long silence and we burst out laughing.

* * *

"Come on Lucas! Whoever packs their bags first wins!"

"I'm going to win!" Lucas taunted, dashing after me, "I packed less!"

He was in high spirits after Mom fixed his foot up, pleased that there had been no need for an amputation. He was also especially excited at the thought of getting home and seeing Dad, but I knew I was going to miss playing with the Dragos and listening to our partially insane Grandpa ramble about magic lizards.

I scowled as we entered the room and Lucas set off neatly packing everything away. Meanwhile, I had to pick up all the clothes I had strewn across the floor. Even though he won, Mom was still proud of us for being so fast and I glowed at her praise. When we had said our goodbyes to Grandpa, we left for home. Lucas grabbed Mom's hand and they walked side by side from the house while I ran ahead. Of course, I couldn't do any proper exploration expeditions without the help of my trusty little brother.

"Lucas, let's explore!" I invited, sprinting back over to where he walked with Mom. He looked up at her, unsure.

"Why don't you join our conversation, Claus?" Mom asked.

I kicked at the ground, grumbled, "Fine," and began to walk with them.

Mom sighed, "I do hope your father hasn't made a big mess at home. He's been missing you two, you know. He'll be so happy when we all get back…"

"Boney, too?" Lucas piped up.

Mom smiled and reached over to ruffle his hair with her free hand. "Of course. He's a smart dog."

"What are we going to have for dinner?" I asked, suddenly feeling eager to be getting home.

Mom laughed, "We'll see. Whatever your father hasn't eaten."

"Omelets?"

"We had those for lunch."

"But Mom, I love your omelets!" I exclaimed, and before she could say anything else, I shouted, "Race ya, Luke!" and took off along the forest path. This time my brother followed, an ecstatic grin spread across his face at the thought of getting back.

"Don't go too far!" Mom called after us, but we weren't paying attention. Lucas pushed past me, sprinting ahead. I put on extra speed to catch up. Just when we were neck and neck, his foot caught on a tree root and he tripped. I skidded to a halt and, rolling my eyes, walked back to where he was sprawled on the ground.

"You are such a klutz!" I scoffed, helping him up.

Then we both froze at the sight before us. Lucas grabbed my hand and squeezed it, his eyes wide. "What happened?" He whispered.

"I don't know." I answered quietly.

The trees in front of us were completely destroyed. Most of them had been uprooted, spraying dirt all over the grass. The roots wound together in gnarled tangles, one of which Lucas had tripped over. Deep gouges ran along the bark and most of the rocks around them had also been shattered. "I wonder what did this." I said in awe, stepping over to the wreckage. "No animal that lives around here would be strong enough. Come on Lucas, let's climb it!"

"Lucas! Claus!" Mom shouted, running up to us, "I told you to wait up!" Then she took in the scene before us. We looked at her reluctantly, waiting for her to say something. I saw her hands shaking as she began to move us along. "Come on, let's go."

Lucas's face filled with fear. I saw his jaw trembling. Something was definitely wrong. We hurried after our mother, entering the canyon to the south of Grandpa Alec's house. I had played inside this canyon before, but the now-shredded earth around me looked eerie and unfamiliar. The canyon walls seemed to close in around us and I began to feel a deep sense of foreboding creep up my spine.

Then we heard the rushing sound of water coming through the trees. "The river!" I gasped in relief, wanting to get out of the claustrophobic canyon as soon as possible. I began to run, Lucas following. Mom screamed something but even to this day I don't know what she said.

It all happened so fast.

I couldn't believe it—my mind just couldn't grasp it. Before we had even rounded the corner, an ear-shattering stomping shook the ground followed by an unearthly roar. We froze. Lucas pressed his body to mine and gave a small whimper of fear. The earthquake footsteps stopped suddenly. I craned my neck to see what was making all the noise, but Lucas held onto me for dear life and I couldn't leave him.

Mom came from behind us and grabbed our shoulders, but she didn't say anything nor make any move to get away. We stood there for what seemed like forever, a ghostly silence enveloping everything. The birds were silent. Even the wind wasn't blowing. It was as if all traces of life had disappeared. I didn't dare move…just stood there, my mind racing wildly that I had to protect my family even if I wasn't sure how.

Finally, Mom bent over us and broke the silence. "I love you two more than my own life…more than words can say…" She murmured, hugging us close to her, "Always remember that."

As soon as she spoke, the ground began to tremble as a monstrous shape came barreling around the stone wall in front of us, crashing through the thin foliage. Lucas screamed as Mom shoved us away from whatever was coming. I tumbled through the air, disoriented and confused, gasping for precious oxygen. I could feel Lucas next to me, scrambling blindly on the ground, his breath coming in short gasps. Then we were up, tearing towards the river at top speed. Footsteps followed us, shaking the ground as we ran like never before, but I didn't dare look back.

At the bank of the river, our pursuer finally caught up. I looked up to see monstrous jaws gaping in front of my brother and I, coming closer and closer. Shielding my face and closing my eyes, I could feel my courage leave me and my body freeze to the ground. I couldn't move. Fear held me in place.

I was going to die.

Through the shock of what was happening, I could feel the warm hands that suddenly grabbed us. Mom! Yet then they were gone, thrusting us away. Another roar blasted through the air. I landed in the river, gasping as the cold water flooded all of my senses. I struggled to resurface, my lungs burning with the effort. As I came up, I could hear Lucas thrashing around frantically downstream. Forcing my eyes open, I saw a scene that would be with me for the rest of my short ten-year old life.

The Mother Drago—our childhood friend—was rushing at Mom, its mouth open to reveal sharp fangs, its eyes blazing scarlet. And there was my mother, standing on the riverbank, her arms out protectively in front of us as we were swept away. As soon as I took in this scene, a wave washed over my head and the world turned dark as I choked on the freezing water. I could feel myself sinking, my world fading. I didn't have the strength to fight the current…I just wasn't strong enough…

Yet, even when I was so far gone, I still couldn't block out that horrible scream that echoed throughout my mind for the rest of my life.

* * *

**Wow…lots of foreshadowing. Please review and tell me what you think! The part where they are swimming is a part of the prologue that they took out of the game. I had to change a couple of things for it to be right.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Much thanks to Black Light Princess and DevirouBa for reviewing! I always love reviewers who give good feedback and say more than "good story" or "update soon." So thanks!**

**I wish more people would come along and read this because I love feedback as much as the next person, but…I guess I'm just too used to getting tons of reviews from the people over in the Kirby section. Oh well. Even if I have a small audience, I will still be putting up chapters! And maybe I can someday put this on !**

**Oh, and thanks to Black Light Princess, I realized I don't have a very interesting summary. Since I would like to grab more people's attention, everyone feel free to make a suggestion since I want a good summary that will get me more reviewers! **

**Well I'm done wasting time. Here is the next chapter of The Cost of Living!**

"I found them! Over here! They're okay!"

Every part of me was soaking wet. Every bone in my body ached with fatigue. Yet, I couldn't believe that I was alive. Blinking water from my eyes, I adjusted to the darkness around and spotted my twin brother lying downstream of me, his body half out of the water. For a fleeting moment, I thought he was dead, but then I could see the faint rise and fall of his chest.

Before I could take in any more, a strong pair of hands picked me up and started carrying me away from the river. I shivered as the cold water clung to my clothes and dripped off of me, snaking down my back from my matted hair. What had happened? My mind kept sliding in and out of consciousness, as if this were the worst sort of nightmare.

Then reality came crashing down like a fatal blow. I gasped. Mom! What had happened to her? The Drago attacked and…she just had to be okay! She had to!

Panic rose in my chest. I looked around weakly, trying to see her in the crowd of villagers that hurried us away from the river. "Mom! Where's Mom?" I cried out hoarsely, my own unrecognizable voice taking me by surprise.

The villagers shushed me, pressing their faces close to mine as if to comfort me while we ran. I wanted to slap them away and scream for my mother, but my arms felt too heavy to move. Moaning, I let them rush me to wherever they were taking me.

When we arrived at a campfire in the woods, I was shaking so badly with fear I couldn't sit still. Tessie, one of the nicer villagers, sat us down and began to strip our clothes off. Others there, including one of my friends Fuel, looked on quietly.

"Don't want-!" I protested weakly, but broke off into a fit of coughing. She ignored me and grabbed two soft brown blankets to wrap around my brother and me. I looked over at him, but he would not meet my gaze. He merely stared into the warm fire before us. Had he seen what I had?

Without saying anything, I pressed my body against his, as if to tell him that everything was going to be okay. He seemed to get the message and smiled, but the smile didn't touch his eyes. Then he turned away and continued to stare into the fire. I wrapped the blanket tighter around me, trembling.

"Claus…Lucas…" Came a familiar voice from behind us. Flint, our dad, came walking toward us slowly. He stopped in front of us, his eyes shadowed with worry.

"…Dad…" Lucas whispered, his voice choked with emotion.

We rushed forward and embraced our father. His strong hands gripped us firmly and his chest warmed my face as I burrowed into his arms. I wished I could have stayed like that for the rest of my life—being slightly crushed by someone I loved. It seemed all too soon when he let us go.

We backed away and sat down in front of the fire again, watching our dad. It had seemed like forever since we had seen him. I wanted to tell him what happened…but I couldn't. When he looked at me, concern etched in every line of his face, I couldn't say a single word. So instead, he turned to Tessie.

"It seems they both fell into the river and got washed downstream." Tessie explained, when Dad looked to her for answers. "Poor little things…"

Dad turned and began to walk to the other side of the fire, but a loud voice made everyone freeze.

"Flint!" The desperate cry echoed throughout the forest. Bronson, a rather large and muscular villager, came sprinting out of the trees, his face filled with terror. Gasping for breath, he stopped in front of the fire. Everyone gathered around him, looking curious. Had they found Mom?

"Flint…" He panted, "…I'm not sure what to say…but just stay calm and hear me out." He straightened up, composed himself, and continued on. "I have good news, and I have bad news. Which do you want to hear first…?" Before Dad could say anything, Bronson decided for him. "No…let me start with the good news first."

Everyone moved in closer.

"I picked up a giant Drago Fang. It'll make for a great weapon. I figured you could probably use it…as for the bad news…" In the long pause that followed, I could very well hear my heart beating. It seemed hours later that Bronson finally took a deep breath and continued on…

"The bad news is…it's where I found the Drago Fang. It was…in your…" He looked away. "It was pierced through your wife's heart…!"

Everyone gasped. Dad stared at him, eyes wide, and took a step back…and another…and then his legs gave out from under him. Head down, he pounded his fist into the ground three times before his shoulders slumped and all his strength seemed to leave him.

Pain shot through my body, as if I had been torn apart. My breath came in short gasps as the shock of it gripped me. Mom wasn't dead! She couldn't be dead! It just…it wasn't fair! It wasn't right! It was impossible!! Silent tears were streaming down my brother's cheeks, his face contorted with grief. Still, no tears left my eyes…my face felt frozen with shock as I watched Bronson step forward and talk to my father sternly.

"Flint…just try to stay calm. I think the only reason Claus and Lucas are safe and sound now is because Hinawa risked her life to protect them."

Tessie moved forward, her eyes glazed with sympathy. "Flint…" She reached out a hand to comfort him, but he knocked her away, hitting her with his elbow. She fell back and sat there, looking stunned.

Then Dad stood up and faced the fire, a mix of emotions burning in his eyes. He reached into the flames and grabbed a stick. Lifting his torch into the air, he swung it at the fire, scattering the twigs, then turned back around. Tessie covered her face as he nearly hit Bronson with his weapon. Bronson stepped back, but Dad moved forward, his eyes filled with anger and confusion, his head hanging down under the sorrow it tried to support. Other villagers moved in closer. Their mistake.

Ollie came forward, murmuring, "Flint…"

In response, Dad smacked at the ground with his weapon, as if warning the approaching man to back off.

"Flint…I'm not sure what to say…" Abbot said, "Please try to pull yourself together…"

Dad looked up at him, rage flickering across his face. He thrust his stick at Abbot and the villager was thrown back. He lay on the ground, stunned, clutching his chest. Dad swung the stick through the air once more, almost as if he was challenging the others to try and stop him. Tessie hurried over and stood in front of us, trying to comfort us. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block everything out, but I stared past Tessie at the scene unfolding before my eyes.

As Abbot sat up, shaking his head, Ollie tried to snatch the stick away from Dad. In return, the man received two hard thwacks to his head. He lay on the ground, blood appearing at the corner of his mouth. Dad raised the stick to hit him again when Bronson took action.

"Flint!" The sturdy man shouted, leaping forward to wrestle with him and take his weapon. "What are you doing?! Claus and Lucas are watching!" My father brushed him off. Bronson prepared himself for a fight, but before anything could happen, Lighter, Fuel's father, came running up from behind and hit Dad across the back of the head with a large log.

My father collapsed facedown on the ground and lay there, unmoving.

"Dad!" I shouted, my voice cracking feebly. Lucas was crying out under his breath, tears flooding his face.

"Come on." Tessie cooed, trying to place herself in front of us as the other men dragged my dad away, "Come on, let's get you home."

I couldn't believe this was happening. It was as if everything were moving in slow motion…as if this were all a dream. Just a horrible nightmare that I would wake up from and forget by the next day. Yet, no matter how much I wished it for all to be a dream, I knew deep down inside that it wasn't and, one way or another, I was going to have to wake up and come face to face with reality.

* * *

The next morning I woke up in my own bed, next to my beloved brother. I figured that after the terrifying events of the night before, Tessie must have taken us home, but I didn't remember what happened after Dad was dragged away. I looked at Lucas. His face was streaked with tears from having cried himself to sleep. He held onto his pillow, whimpering under his breath as he slept.

"Lucas." I said, reaching over to place a hand on his shoulder.

His eyes opened and he slowly sat up to look at me. My chest tightened. I never knew that someone's eyes could look so lifeless…so full of grief. Gripped by a sudden impulse, I reached over and hugged him tightly, but he didn't react…just stared past me. I squeezed him hard, willing some of my strength to pass from me to him so he could stop looking so desolate. When I let go, he lay back down and closed his eyes, new tears staining the pillow beneath him.

With a sigh, I got up and got dressed into my normal brown shorts and striped shirt. Seeing the empty kitchen before me brought a pang of sadness into my heart. I looked at what we had to eat, but I wasn't sure how to cook so I abandoned eating breakfast for that moment. I was too upset to feel hungry anyways.

So instead, I left to see my mother.

When I walked outside, I nearly tripped over Boney, who was lying in front of the door. The brown dog lifted his head and thumped his tail once in greeting, yet his normally friendly brown eyes seemed to be empty as well. Then his head sank back onto his paws and he stared dejectedly at the ground. Even he seemed to know that something horrible had happened.

I left our house and walked into Tazmily Village. A kind of gloom seemed to hang over the little neighborhood and most everyone seemed unwilling to speak to me or even look at me for that matter…not that I wanted them to. I knew they were avoiding any awkward conversations about my mother, but that was okay. I didn't want sympathy. Careful not to make eye contact with anyone, I began to head north to the graveyard.

The graveyard was a creepy place full of aging tombstones and rotting trees. My insides felt cold as I walked over the long-dead bodies of villagers. Yet, none of the tombs looked new, and I couldn't seem to find where my mother was. Then I saw it…

A bright new tombstone stood out on the edge of the cliff, apart from the other graves. It shone in the sun and was surrounded by many flowers…sunflowers.

Mom's favorite.

Drawing closer to it, I read what was inscribed on the smooth, gray stone.

_Hinawa~ Daughter of Alec, Wife to Flint, Mother to the twins Lucas & Claus_

I closed my eyes, trying my best to hold back the tears. My body shook with silent sobs as I forced my cries back into my throat.

"Mom…" I whispered, my voice hoarse, "I'm sorry…I should have…you weren't supposed to…you…!" I tried to force the words out, but they wouldn't come. Grief threatened to overwhelm me. I wanted to throw myself at her grave and cry my eyes out, but I stayed where I was.

What had my last words been to her? What had our last moment together, as a family, been like? I had so selfishly grumbled, "Fine" when asked to join the last conversation we would ever have. As she and Lucas had talked so tenderly about our loved ones, I had idiotically changed the topic to _omelets_. I was a self-centered fool. If only things had gone differently. If only I could apologize.

But now she was gone.

I felt so ashamed. I buried my face in my hands, pressing my fingers into my eyes, forcing back the tears. I was so sick of all the sorrow that had consumed me for the past twelve hours. I wanted it all to end. I needed to find some way to make the unbearable grief evaporate. I needed to get away from her grave. Remembering my mother was too painful…

I turned to leave, wondering where Dad was. As I exited the graveyard, a familiar, gentle voice broke through my depressed thoughts.

"Claus!"

"Mom…!" I gasped, whipping around, eyes wide. She wasn't dead! She was alive! It had all just been a dream after all, a horrible nightmare, and--

And then my heart fell. It was just Tessie…but her brown hair and kind eyes looked so much like Mom's that I had mistook her for my mother. The resemblance pricked at my heart painfully, an agonizing reminder. It felt as if a giant hole had opened up in my chest and it was just going to keep getting wider. I don't know the expression that was on my face at the moment, but it must have been a gruesome one, for Tessie frowned at me, her pretty features worried.

To show her that I was okay, I forced a small, sad smile. But my chin quivered, shattering my smile and breaking through my "I'm okay" pretense. I turned my face away from Tessie and ran for the village, so she couldn't see that I was on the verge of tears. I didn't even look back when she called after me, sounding so much like my mother when she was concerned about me.

By the time I was back in the town, I had calmed myself down enough to look for my Dad properly. Yet, no one would tell me where he was, even if I asked politely. Then I came across Grandpa after some walking around aimlessly.

"Grandpa!" I said, a little surprised to see him so far from his home.

"Hello Claus." He said, his voice grave, "I came to see your mother."

"Oh, I'm…going to see Dad." I replied.

Grandpa looked at me curiously. "Well, the funeral is going to start in a little while. Make sure you're there, okay?" He reached over with a gnarled hand and gave me an awkward pat on the head.

"Okay." I promised. He gave a curt nod, but had a faraway look in his eyes as he turned and ambled away.

"Looking for your old man, huh?" Came a familiar voice. I turned to see Ollie glaring at me. A bandage was wrapped around his head tightly. Normally the man was friendly, but now he seemed bitter over the fact that my dad had attacked him.

"Where's my Dad?" I asked, walking over to him, "No one will tell me."

"You really want to know where he is, huh?" Ollie growled, his features looking stuck somewhere in between smug and angry. "All right I'll tell you…he's in jail! And he ain't never coming out! What do you think of your daddy now?"

I glowered at him, the urge to stand up for my family gripping me tightly. Instead, I turned away, headed directly for the jail. Then I realized…what use would I be to him if I just walked in to _see_ him? He didn't deserve to be in there. He had to go to the funeral. He had to get out and be there when everyone said goodbye to Mom…I needed to help him get out so he could do that.

I remembered back to one summer Lucas and I had found a bird stuck in a trap. Not knowing what to do, we had showed Mom and she had helped us cut the lock off by using a nail filer. Sprinting home as fast as I could, I burst into our house and began rooting through the drawers, careful not to wake Lucas. It didn't take long to find a filer.

Hit by a sudden inspiration, I grabbed an apple off our counter and shoved the nail filer through it. If there were prison guards, they wouldn't suspect an apple! I couldn't wait to tell Mom later on about my genius. She would be so proud! Just like when—

I froze, my happiness short-lived as reality once again caught up with me. My heart twisted painfully and I winced.

"Hey Claus. What are you doing?" I jumped, not realizing that Lucas had gotten up and dressed while I had been putting my plan into action.

"Lucas!" I exclaimed, "Dad's in jail! Come on, you gotta come help me get him out…" I trailed off at the heartrending look that hung over his face like a cloud.

He shook his head, his bottom lip trembling. "No, I…I want Mom."

"But Dad needs us!" I argued. He looked away; his face puckered with misery, and he gave his head a slight shake. Annoyance washed through my veins, sick of everyone constantly reminding me of a sorrowful subject that I didn't want to talk about. "Okay, _you_ go cry some more while _I _help Dad!" I snapped, clenching the apple tight in my fist as I started towards the door.

I ignored the fresh wave of tears that swept across his face and left to help my Dad, brushing off the guilt that clawed at my torn insides. I didn't need to look back to know that my brother was heading for my mother's grave to mourn along with the rest of the town.

* * *

"Dad." I said, opening the door to the prison and entering, "It's me. Claus."

Dad's face appeared as he looked at me from inside the bars. "Claus?" He said, in disbelief. He sounded tired. I ran up, relieved to see him. "I told Lucas to come too, but he's been crying at Mom's grave all this time." I told him quickly, taking out the apple and placing it on the ledge under the barred window. He looked at it curiously.

"Dad." I told him meaningfully, "I'm gonna leave this apple here. The core might be hard, but…the core…" I searched for the right words. "The core might be too hard to eat, but be _sure _you eat it!"

I turned to leave, but something stopped me. I halted, as my mind was flooded with sudden images. Dad's burning eyes as he learned the horrifying news last night…Lucas's tear-stained face in bed this morning…Mom's smile as she talked about going home…then I saw the Drago that had killed her, it's eyes blazing, it's mouth gaping to show pointed teeth, the teeth that had so cruelly ended her life. At that moment, something began to burn within me…as if someone had lit my heart on fire. I closed my eyes, struggling to contain the inferno that was raging inside my body.

"I'm gonna get stronger." I murmured, remembering back to the last happy moments I had spent with my family, "…I'm gonna get so strong even Dragos won't stand a chance against me!"

Then I remembered where I was.

I looked back at my father. His eyes filled with pain at my words. Guilt stuck me as I took in his anguished expression. "Dad…I…!" My throat closed up with grief. I turned and ran out of the prison, once more running away and hiding from those who cared about me so they couldn't see my face give away how much I hurt inside.

Yet, no matter how much sadness or pain that enveloped me, my heart still burned with a new feeling that felt like a blazing fire, lit inside my aching heart.

A fire that burned with sorrow and revenge.


End file.
